Analysts divided on DP Gachagua's shift of stance towards Uhuru

Political experts have weighed in on Deputy President (DP) Rigathi Gachagua's shift in stance towards former President Uhuru Kenyatta, whom he constantly criticised during and after the 2022 elections in  tussle for Mt. Kenya kingship. 

This comes after Gachagua on Wednesday extended an olive branch to Uhuru, urging the former president to let bygones be bygones for the sake of unifying the Mt. Kenya region.

Speaking on Citizen TV's JKLive Show on Wednesday, Political Analyst Prof. Macharia Munene opined that Gachagua's gesture reeks of desperation, further suggesting that the DP has come to understand that ousting Uhuru as the dominant figure in Mt. Kenya politics is more challenging than he had initially anticipated.

"DP Gachagua is desperate. From the day he was sworn in as DP, he appeared to be on a mission to be declared the leader of the Mountain and he did everything and anything possible to be declared that but it has been very elusive," said Munene.  

"The Limuru III meeting took place because something is not right in the country. Forget about the people who organised it; something is not right."

Prof. Peter Kagwanja, another political analyst, however countered Munene's assertions, suggesting that Gachagua's motive is simply to repair his relationship with Uhuru after allegedly displacing him as Mt. Kenya kingpin.

"The purpose for which he (Gachagua) was appointed is over; we needed to knock off Uhuru Kenyatta and the DP was the man to do the job. He knocked Uhuru down and left very few seats for Jubilee in the Mt. Kenya region," said Kagwanja.

"Jubilee is now hollow-part because it used to have 170+ seats...today it has no more than 28 which are still split in the middle. He (Gachagua) did a great job of finishing Uhuru and now his purpose is peace-making."

On her part, former EALA MP Mumbi Ng'aru asserted that Gachagua's call for peace with Uhuru was not done in a manner befitting the former President's political status. 

"Behind the political curtains anything can happen so it is in order for Gachagua to extend an olive branch to Uhuru but he is not doing it the right way. If I were Uhuru Kenyatta, I wouldn’t trust Gachagua because he rushed so early to dismantle and burn the bridges without probably having considered that he still had five years to go," she said.  

"The unity of Mt Kenya is important but Uhuru is still Mt. Kenya and therefore he (Gachagua) miscalculated. Uhuru is not the kind of person you invite (to talks) from a public market. It is disrespectful. If he meant to look for Uhuru Kenyatta there are other diplomatic avenues."

When extending the olive branch to Uhuru on Wednesday, Gachagua who spoke in his native Gikuyu language, labelled the former president as one of the mountain's sons who must also join hands for the region's unity.

Gachagua's remarks came a week after the Limuru III meeting announced that Uhuru will be the Mt. Kenya spokesperson and will guide the newly formed Haki coalition. 

The meeting likewise accused Gachagua of ignoring the plight of residents in the Mt Kenya region ever since he assumed office.